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The True Ugly Duckling: How Hans Christian Andersen Became a Swan

The True Ugly Duckling: How Hans Christian Andersen Became a Swan

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Author(s)

Sandra Nickel

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Calvin Innes

Publisher

Levine Querido

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

March 03, 2026

ISBN

978-1646145768

Buy This Book

He brought to life stories and characters that millions have loved: A one-legged tin soldier who yearned for love. A poor little match girl. A mermaid who gave up her voice for a prince. But who was Hans Christian Andersen? He was a “strange child.” An ugly duckling. Even his mother said so. He didn’t seem to think like, or look like, anyone around him. But while his tender heart was bruised by ridicule, it responded by driving an unstoppable urge to create, to entertain. If he couldn’t act he would dance, if he couldn’t dance he would sing, and if he couldn’t sing … well, maybe he had stories to tell. With each rejection and defeat, Hans would soothe himself by making art with scissors and whatever was handy. A bit of cloth, a piece of paper. Until one day…

Structured like a fairy tale, this is the story of how Hans Christian Andersen took all the parts of his life—whether painful or transcendent—and used them to create books that have touched children the world over.

This is the first picture book biography of Andersen to be told through a lens that takes into account what scholars now know of his neurodiversity. Anderson, for instance, often told stories while keeping his hands busy by making paper-cut art. In this spirit, the remarkable illustrations by Calvin Nicholls are all created as paper-cut soft sculptures.

A fresh, and uniquely beautiful look at one of the world’s greatest storytellers.

Editor review

1 review

More Perspective on a Beloved Author

May 08, 2026 (Updated: June 20, 2026)

Overall rating

4.3

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Learning Value

4.0

Hans Christian Andersen starting telling stories when he was very young, but didn't always get positive feedback for them. When he was old enough, he left his small village to travel to Copenhagen to try to break into the theater , but was kicked out. He didn't do well at a dance school, either. He had some brief success in the Royal Theater's Boys' Choir until his voice changed, so at the age of seventeen, he found himself attending school. He stopped writing stories and turned his attention to academics, and afterwards found some success in telling his stories to children. He had a book printed, and eventually found success with his stories, which have the feel of classic folk and fairy tales.

Good Points

An author's note addresses the possible sources of Andersen's social awkwardness; he might have suffered from Marfan Syndrome, which led to his tall and lanky physique, and was likely on the autism spectrum. Because he was born in 1805, this would not necessarily have been identified. We are seeing more biographies that explore more depth of historical figures, including some differences that used to be swept under the rug.

It's the cut paper illustrations that really make this one; Nicholls does a great job of layering the backgrounds with a lot of different elements, and also of conveying emtions in the figures. I especially like Andersen's clothes; the wrinkles in the pants are so realistic. The color palette has a lot of blue, yellow and green which seem very evocative of the Danish countryside.

Young readers will be familiar with Andersen's stories but might not know the background of the author. Add this to our literary round table of picture book biographies of authors that might include Beatrix Potter, Scientist by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Make Way: The Story of Robert McCloskey, Nancy Schön, and some very Famous Ducklings by Angel Burke Kunkel, One Fun Day with Lewis Carroll: A Celebration of Wordplay and a Girl Named Alice by Kathleen Krull and illustrated Júlia Sardà., Tomfoolery! Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children’s Books by Michelle Markel and Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary by Vicki Conrad and illustrated by David Holm.